Book brings family's Christmas tradition to life
By Daniel Wolowicz camarillo@theacorn.com

SANTA'S HELPERS- Georgia residents Chanda Bell and her mother, Carol Aebersold, authors of the children's book "The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition," are now touring the country to promote their new book. Aebersold will be at the Las Posas Emporium, 528 Las Posas Road, for a book signing Sat., Nov. 17.

Growing up alongside a twin sister and younger brother, Chanda Bell always knew Santa Claus was keeping a watchful eye on the family's Georgia home.

St. Nick himself may not have been sitting in their living room, but he had sent a small elf dressed in a red cap and jumpsuit to report back to him each night on whether the children had been naughty or nice.

The elf--a creation of her mother, Carol Aebersold-- magically returned from the North Pole every morning and took residence in a different room of the house.

Bell, now married with two young children of her own, said the family tradition went a long way in keeping the three siblings from getting into too much trouble during the holiday season.

"I think my sister and I were probably a handful as twins, and I can vividly remember my mom gently reminding us that the elf was watching, and that's all it took," said Bell, a 30-something graduate of the University of West Georgia.

The fond memories of the elf and the stories it created led Bell and her mom, also a Georgia resident, to put pen to paper and write "The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition," a children's story about the legend of the elf, in late 2003.

"We were in the process of reminding ourselves of how much it meant to us growing up that we decided to write the book," the former teacher said.

Some "150 drafts later," Bell said, she and her mother, former editor-in-chief of Dayspring magazine, had written the story as a poem.

With the story in hand, the pair set out to find an artist to bring the book to life.

They interviewed a number of area artists, including fellow Georgia resident Coë Steinwart, who, Bell said, heard their idea and "made this project come alive."

Steinwart's lively water paintings, Bell said, weren't the typical computer-generated drawings so many children's books use for illustrations.

Some six months later--by Christmas 2005-- the book was complete and ready to be printed.

Bell said she her mom opted to self-publish the book through their own publishing company as a way to guarantee their family tradition wouldn't be changed by a publishing house.

Tight-lipped about how many copies are in print, Bell said she and her mother personally paid for the first printing of books-- which included a small elf packaged in a Christmas-themed gift box.

"You end up scraping pennies together that you didn't even know you had," Bell said of self-publishing the book, now in its second print run. "You start small and you build from there."

Bell said the book's success came slowly but surely as word of the book traveled amongst neighbors and her children's fellow classmates.

"The success of this project is because of word-of-mouth," Bell said. "It's at bus stops and school classrooms, and it's really a grass-roots type of effort to get the word out about this product."

The book is now sold in hundreds of stores throughout the United States, including the Las Posas Emporium in Camarillo, where Aebersold will be on hand for a book signing Sat., Nov. 17 from 10 a.m. to noon.

"We got really excited about it, because it just brings back being a child again," said Curtis Kerth, owner of Las Posas Emporium. "It brings you back to your own Christmases and traditions."

Kerth said sales of the book have been brisk and recommended shoppers buy "Elf on the Shelf" before the book signing.

Both Aebersold and Bell also have published a companion "Elf on the Shelf" Christmas activity book with drawings, puzzles and a sing-along CD.

"We don't just sell a book. We don't just sell a toy," Bell said. "We sell a tradition."

For more information about the book, call (877) 919-4105 or visit www.theelfontheshelf.com. Click "Calendar of Events" on the website for details on the book signing.